Conviction of Ryan Ferguson overturned by appeals court

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(KTVI) - A Missouri appeals court has overturned the conviction of 29-year-old Ryan Ferguson. He was convicted in the 2001 strangulation death of a Jefferson City newspaper sports editor named Kent Heitholt. Ferguson was convicted in 2005 and received a 40-year sentence. But, there was no physical evidence linking him to the crime.

Court documents say, "Writ of Habeas Corpus is issued. Ferguson's convictions are vacatedand Ferguson is ordered discharged from the custody of the department of corrections unless the State elects to retry him."

jg

He doesn’t have money. What he did have was top notch pro bono legal representation for his habeas appeals. Also, he had the facts and innocence on his side. He’s hardly lucky though, he was railroaded and served 9.5 years for a crime had nothing to do with.